To ask in desperation if there are any doctors/French people awake

[Uzes]

I’m in Nimes in the south of France and in absolute agony.

A couple of weeks before going away my GP confirmed that I have a large (about the size of a grain of rice) sublingual salivary stone (sialolith) At the time it was only causing a bit of pain on and off so he suggested eating lemon every day to see if that would dissolve it and come back if not as it would have to be removed.

It’s still there but it’s only from day 1 of the holiday, Monday, that I’ve been in agonising pain with it. We were driving down from Le Havre to the south over the last few days. I initially thought it was toothache as the pain seemed to be coming from a heavily filled tooth and I managed to get an emergency dentist apointment in Nimes a couple of days ago - he took an x ray and said there was nothing wrong with my tooth and no infection. I stupidly didn’t mention the sialolith as it hadn’t hurt like this before and the pain was only in the tooth so it didn’t occur to me that it might not be the tooth.

but the pain is now sometimes from there, but mostly from the location of the stone under my tongue and the back of my throat/all around jaw area. It’s complete agony, worse than the drug-free labour I had (that was not through choice btw, there was no time) and the many gallstone attacks I had before having my gallbladder removed. The dentist prescribed Flanid, an anti inflammatory and Doliprane which I think has paracetamol. I’ve also been taking ibuprofen. Nothing is touching it and I am not sleeping, crying with pain, walking up and down in absolute agony. Its the worst pain I’ve ever experienced.

It’s now early hours of Saturday.

Please can anyone medical//French advise me? I have very little money but credit cards and am willing to pretty much do anything to make this pain stop. I have my EHIC card and holiday insurance.

Do I try to get an emergency doctors appointment? Go to a&e at the nearest hospital? Get a flight home and leave dp and 2 year old ds to drive back and get the ferry home on Monday?

I’m attaching the x ray the dentist took as I’m wondering if the white patch at the bottom might be the stone, not that I guess that makes a difference to anything.

X ray

I'd go to a and e, tout suite to be honest

Take your EHIC card and passport and holiday insurance

Here's what the NHS site says about hospital treatment in France. Your EHIC card should cover you for most of the cost.

Hospitals
If you are admitted to hospital, make sure you present your EHIC on admission. This will ensure you only pay the patient contribution.
If you are admitted to a private hospital or clinic, try to ensure that it is also registered to provide state healthcare.
Generally, you will only have to pay a 20% co-payment towards your treatment, sometimes it will be free. Inpatients will have to pay a daily hospital charge of €18. If you are admitted to hospital and receive any major medical treatment, you will be charged a flat-rate contribution of €18 in addition to the daily hospital charge or the 20% co-payment.
If possible, find out about treatment costs and reimbursement rates in advance. Some facilities apply a surcharge (dépassement d’honoraires) that is not covered by the French healthcare system. A few clinics are "non conventionnées", meaning that their rates are not government regulated.

This is your nearest hospital.

Hôpital universitaire Carémeau (NIMES)
Indicateurs qualité ***

Avis patients *
**
(50 avis)
Capacité :
1371 places
Type de structure :
Hôpital dépendant d'un CHRU
Dépend de :
CENTRE HOSPITALIER UNIVERSITAIRE DE NIMES
Téléphone :
04 66 68 68 68
Site internet :
www.chu-nimes.fr
Adresse :
Place du Professeur Debré 30029 NIMES

Informations liées à la recherche

Do you speak French op? Shout if you need help

Thank you so much, I really don’t know what they will do re treatment (would they perhaps do the surgery here?) which is adding to my worry. I will go to a&e anyway once dp and ds are awake as I’m not confident enough to drive myself. Thanks again

My French is ok, I understand it pretty well but my vocabulary isn’t brilliant

I'm not sure if it's ok to mix ibuprofen and paracetamol. If the pain is that bad go to the hospital. Nimes is a tourist/expat area and they will have someone who speaks English.

I had a couple of teeth out last week. I was advised by my dentist to take paracetamol and ibuprofen together for the best results (and it works).

France is a European country, there is nothing to be afraid of.

Extreme pain in French is "douleur extreme". Sialolith seems to be the same word.

You can point to where it hurts and take the x ray. Take your medication with you too. Please note that I don't have any medical training but I have lived in France.

Acute suppurative sialadenitis presents as rapid-onset pain and swelling and is treated with antibiotics, salivary massage, hydration, and sialagogues such as lemon drops or vitamin C lozenges.Viraletiologies include mumps and human immunodeficiency virus, and treatment is directed at the underlying disease

Dr Google says try to massage it...?

Ps I'm not a doctor!! That's off a website! Xxx

It’s fine to take both paracetamol and ibuprofen if you stick to the correct dosing schedules.

If it were me I'd want a doctor to take a look at it.

When I had really bad toothache I found that co-codomol worked where nothing else did. They are paracetamol pills with a touch of codeine. In the UK they're available from behind the counter without a prescription. I don't know about in France, but could be worth asking in a pharmacy.

From the same NHS site. This is how to find a duty pharmacy. But I would go to the hospital. Don't take medical advice from mumsnet!

You can call 32 37 for information about duty pharmacies. It's a 24-hour phone service to help you find pharmacies in your area. You can also use their online service and search for pharmacies via postcode (information in French only).

You can't buy codeine OTC in France - I recall trying a few years ago - they sniggered and looked at me like I was a drug addict...

I really hope you manage to get this sorted ASAP OP, it sounds truly awful.

the name is slightly different in French, it is called calcul or lithiase salivaire. As you speak some French, read her, it will give you some vocabulary.

www.docteurclic.com/maladie/lithiase-salivaire.aspx and www.mongeneraliste.be/maladies/glandes-salivaires-des-infections-des-calculs

I would go to ER say;

Bonjour, y aurait-il quelqu’un qui parle Anglais s’il vous plait.
J’ai une douleur extrême a la bouche causée par un calcul salivaire.
Je suis en agonie, c’est pire qu’un accouchement,
Aidez-moi s’il vous plait. Ce ne sont pas les dents, un dentiste me l’a confirmé, j’ai la radio avec moi.

Good morning, is there someone that speaks English please. I have extra pain caused by sialolith. I am in agony, it is way worse than childbirth. Please help me, it is not the teeth, a dentist checked them , I have the X-rays with me.

Oh thank you that’s so helpful, I really appreciate it

Dentist here, it’s difficult to be 100% certain from this type of X-ray (and on my tiny phone screen!) but it looks as if the tooth in front of the heavily filled one has a cavity. (Dark shadow with white outline) This may just be an incedental finding, and not the cause of the pain, but a smaller, close up X-ray of this tooth can confirm. The type of X-ray you have is great for an overview, but not for specifics, so anything suspect would warrant closer investigation. Even if it turns out to be the sialolith that’s causing your pain, I’d get the tooth checked too. (Painkillers unfortunately are not particularly effective for dental pain.) Hope you get an appointment ASAP!

Thank you @MilkLady, I will go to my dentist when I’m back in the UK as well

Thanks to everyone else too

My DD had a salivary stone that caused her salivary gland to swell (as it was blocking the entrance and saliva built up as no where to go I think) and caused pain but nothing like what you are experiencing. Our dentist had never seen one as they are quite rare but as the tip of the stone was visible in her mouth, tried to pull it out with dental tweezers. He did say if he couldn’t she would have to go to a specialist and have it surgically removed. Luckily he did manage to get it out (but that hurt a lot!) and once it was out her pain sorted itself pretty quickly. He mentioned it can be caused by dehydration - and she does take a lot of antihistamines which were probably the cause of hers. Can you see a white spot in your mouth? Hers looked like a pimple but was in fact the tip of the stone trying to work it’s way out of the duct.
Hopefully the doctors at the hospital can get yours out OP - but if that’s what it is, once out your pain should go very soon after.

It sounds horrendous

Flanid is an anti inflammatory as you said, so is ibuprofen. You can only take one or the other, and if you've been doubling up like this it may in fact be a good idea to take neither. Tell them what you've been taking and how much (bring the boxes if possible), and go to a&e for the pain

I'm not sure if it's ok to mix ibuprofen and paracetamol

It is fine to do this. One is a NSAID and the other is acetaminophen. You are not overdosing as long as you stick to the dosage directions.

Don't take Flanid with Ibuprofen though..